Editor’s note: This is the second of two essays about Proposition 29. Last week, the CEO of the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce argued against the measure.

As an oncologist for the past 30 years, I have had the privilege of caring for hundreds of men and women at every stage of cancer. Happily, many have survived and gone on to enjoy full, productive and joyful lives. I remain optimistic that cure rates and cancer control will improve with advances in molecular medicine and that we will prevent more cancers by identifying and reducing risks. I also believe that local coalitions will effectively work to improve public health in the Sacramento region, which ranks below average on many measurements, including tobacco use, obesity and access to healthy food. But optimism needs support if we are to have a healthier community.

Proposition 29 on Tuesday’s ballot will do more than improve public health. It will bring economic and job opportunities to the state by infusing dollars into research enterprises, facility construction and business development and by curbing employer health-care costs associated with tobacco-related illness and lost productivity.

The $1-per-pack tobacco-tax initiative also will complement and help advance the goals of “Next Economy,” the collaborative, business-led prosperity plan for the six-county capital region. Next Economy leaders recognize that job opportunity and education are keys to building and maintaining a healthy and productive workforce and ultimately boosting the region’s economic competitiveness.

Consider the facts: The California Cancer Research Act will inject $117 million per year in construction and improvements to research facilities in California, creating 2,000 jobs, according to the California Alliance for Jobs, a nonprofit construction worker and management organization. The $735 million it will provide each year for heart disease and cancer research will generate an estimated $2.40 in new state business activity, predicts Families USA, a health care consumer advocacy group. The UC San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education estimates that the act will yield to a net increase of about 12,000 jobs and $1.9 billion in total economic activity in the state.

And because Proposition 29 will prompt many smokers to quit, employers will benefit from savings in health care costs and lost productivity due to tobacco-related illness. The American Lung Association reports that employees who smoke cost an annual average of $1,429 more in health care costs than nonsmoking employees, and that employers can save about $3,400 for every individual who quits.

My personal hope is that the tax will prevent people from ever starting to smoke, particularly our youth, who will be our Next Economy work force.

The Central Valley, a growing hub of innovative biotechnology and medical research, will be a beneficiary of the Proposition 29 investment. For example, UC Davis, with its new National Cancer Institute designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, is positioned to take advantage of opportunities to accelerate its robust laboratory and clinical research, as well as more intensively address barriers to prevention and treatment advances within our diverse communities. The successes of these multidisciplinary teams will be amplified through research collaborations with our partners at the Veterans Administration, other University of California campuses and the community hospital-based cancer centers throughout the valley.

Cancer’s toll is a stark reminder of health inequities, a toll most visible in populations more likely to suffer job instability and health problems related to poor diet, tobacco use and lack of access to good care.

Approval of Proposition 29 will result in more rewarding and high-paying jobs anchored in science and technology, stimulate our economy, improve the health of our workforce through prevention, treatment and outreach, and promote innovative academic-private partnerships.

A yes vote on Proposition 29 is a vote in support of a public-health agenda that will help build the Next Economy of our region and improve the health and future of all Californians.

Dr. Frederick J. Meyers is professor of medicine at UC Davis and a member of the board of directors of the American Cancer Society, California Division.